Rachel Loeb and Ariel Shavit
Editor-in-Chief and Arts, Features, & Games Editor
Beginning next year, Barrack will be welcoming a new Middle School Director, Mr. Dorsch!! The following is an interview with Mr. Dorsch about his plans for next year.
What are you looking forward to for this new role?
`
I am extremely excited about this new position. I am most excited for the opportunity that this new role will give me to interact with the community of students in a new way. I am looking forward to getting to know the middle school, helping them navigate the ‘bumpy roads’, and creating an environment of joy. I know that there are moments in middle school that are hard, so I am looking forward to creating moments of happiness, where students are excited to learn and see their friends. Some of my favorite memories are from middle school, and it's where I met the friends I’m most connected with, so I’m looking forward to helping create an environment where students can have a rigorous program, find themselves, and find close friends. I believe that middle school is a place to create memories as well as to prepare for high school. Middle school is not just a time of transition, it is its own entity, and it is important to focus on meeting the needs of each individual so that students can find out who they are and what they enjoy.
Is there anything in your previous role that you will miss doing?
One thing I will miss from my previous position at Resource is the opportunity to teach kids directly. While this new position does provide opportunities to work with students, it will not be the same regularity. Still, there will be many opportunities, and I look forward to stepping into this role of mentoring staff and overseeing the big picture ideas.
Are there any new rules or ideas you will be enforcing for students to take on other than Barrack’s Derech Eretz values?
Going into this new role, I don’t necessarily have any concrete ideas. Rather, I wants to start by observing the pre-existing middle school dynamics, and then later determine what needs to be changed. Through my position in the Resource department, I have already had the opportunity to study student routine, but I want to increase this. In developing plans, I aim to put the needs of the students first. I believe that the administration is there to help students navigate a challenging and exciting part of their lives, and that will be done best if they first sit back, observe, listen, and then later make the changes. That being said, I believe that some improvements can be made regarding organization and locker use, which will improve student health and executive functioning skills.
Are you going to plan more activities and events for the middle schoolers?
Yes! I believe that a central part of the middle school and overall Barrack programs is connectivity and community. Students should not apologize for having fun in school. I believe there will be a lot of opportunities for activities in the future, either by elevating programs that are already successful, coming up with new programs, or bringing back old favorites from his time in middle school. I am working on planning events for next year in deep and meaningful ways.